Writing on the wall

One of things I love about writing is making discoveries. You put your character in a situation where they need to discover something to improve (or escape from) that situation. In one of my latest WIPs (The UltraTerrestrials) my main character finds a coin that literally turns her life upside down. Writing the part where she finds the coin was exciting for me and once I got into it, I couldn’t stop. I knew the coin was there and I wanted to make her work for it (I’m a bit mean like that when it comes to my characters!).

My love of discovery is one of the main parts of me that comes out in my writing. When I’m not writing I go to curio shops and antique shops and any other place that sells second hand goods to see what little (or big) treasures I can find. The biggest treasure I’ve ever found is the RUC. There are so many things in the RUC to discover – and just when I think I’ve found everything, something else pops up.

I’ve spoken to people who know about buildings and they all come up with one scenario – the RUC was built in the mid to late 1800s as a ‘government building’. The reason for this is its unusual design and the wood it’s made from. Money was no object when the RUC was built (typical government!). Every piece of wood in the place is beautiful oak, the large corner hard wood timbers are 6”x6” which is unheard of in many old buildings. It’s never had interior walls to make up separate rooms (like bedrooms), but it does have large unpainted marks on the floor (as if there has been some kind of counter near the front door).

But what was it? I need to take a trip to the Historical Society because I still haven’t figured it out, but I may have narrowed it down when I was working in there today.

Before it became the Rugby Union Club it was classified as a ‘government asset’ (I checked this out on-line, but unfortunately there was a fire in the council offices last century and a lot of information was lost) – so it was either a police station, an ambulance station, a court house, a school, or a post office.

I’ve experienced a lot of strange coincidences since the RUC came into my life and will one day write a story about them (they’re THAT good!) But today I was washing the walls to get them ready for painting when a wasp flew past my head several times. Yesterday I’d cleaned one of those muddy wasp nests away that was high up in a corner of the wall and I don’t want any more of them to nest before I screen everything in preparation to move in.

I ignored the wasp for a while but after it dive-bombed me for the tenth time I decided to follow it to see where it was building its nest. I walked out to the back veranda where the rugby union people had lined out an area to use as an office (which I’m going to strip out to convert to a guest bedroom). The wasp disappeared into a hole in the wall so I peeked through (no – it didn’t sting my eyeball!) but I saw something weird.

Being me, I grabbed a hammer and knocked a bigger hole in the wall so I could take a better look. I took a picture of what I found.

Below the word AMBULANCE is a phone number that looks quite old. I’m now thinking of crossing ‘ambulance station’ off my list because an ambulance station (by my way of thinking – but I could be wrong) wouldn’t have its own number on its back wall. However, a police station may have the ambulance number written clearly somewhere.

I haven’t smashed down the rest of the wall yet, but I’m certainly looking forward to it!

That’s awesome! Mysteries of the house! 😀
I haven’t made any major discoveries like that lately… and I hope I don’t… because they might not be good ones… or is that just my strange imagination telling me that? 😀

The RUC may turn out to have it’s own story needing to be told… sounds mysterious and interesting… and if nothing turns up.. you can make it up..we’d all believe you.. don’t start breaking down too much you need to start getting finished for the upcoming visitors…

That old wall just had to go, Bulldog because there is beautiful tongue and groove painted wall behind it that just needs to be washed down (and the false wall already had a few holes in it (luckily) 😉

Hmmm – yes, I like the idea of making up a history 😀 I haven’t been tapped on the shoulder by a ghost yet (but I haven’t slept there either) and something like that may make a good story! 😀 It’s a very strange building and whenever people walk in there they seem to get extremely relaxed and pensive (and don’t want to leave – which could become a bit of a problem!)

What a discovery, Dianne. It must be extremely fascinating delving deep into the building’s history. It’s not quite the same thing, but a while ago a was in to genealogy (family trees and all that). I made a discover that none of my immediate family knew about. One of my great, great, great uncles fought in WWI when he was just 18 and died at Flanders Field. When something grabs you like that, its hard to put ‘normal’ life to one side!

That’s really interesting, Dan. I love looking into genealogy as well. I remember finding (by pure chance) a picture of my great great great grandmother and she was wearing a locket around her neck. I always thought about the locket and thought it was probably lost years ago, but then when one of my great aunts passed – guess what? She had the locket and she left to me! (without knowing I had seen the picture and I loved that locket!) My walls are filled with pictures of my ancestors. It’s great to dig… 😀

So no records at all? 😦 That is curious though isn’t it…imagine if it was part of an old police station, which housed convicts and even Ned 😉 and what you could do about it…write…and ok my imagination is going overboard. Me discovering anything of interest? Sadly nup. 😦

I so enjoy each new post Dianne. And I drop down to you posts ahead of all the others for the day.

So, we’re talking discoveries, are we?

Yesterday we had showing #7 with our second realtor (which is probably like showing #40 of the school since beginning to offer it for sale — we sort of lost track but the first realtor did about 32 +/- if we counted them all up correctly).

The folks looked familiar when they walked in the door and lo and behold it turns out they were the second couple to see the building with the first realtor. They had put money down on another building that time and realized there was no way for them to get out of their deal; walking away very sad some 15 months ago.

And here they are again — having just had a second deal go bad. He’s in the music business and wants space for a low key studio. The house they bought is for living and they tried to buy a building for studio space in the low-price South end of the business district. Good news for us is that deal went belly-up. They are looking again. Bad news for us is they want to be closer to town.

But back to discoveries…. While they were here there was lots of talk about could this wall come out or that wall. We got out our blueprints of the 1923 building and answered some of the questions but the question came up — WHERE is the chimney?

When we re-roofed the house 7 years ago the chimneys — both of them — were torn down below roof height because they were no longer being used. One for exhaust gasses. One for fresh air intake. You can see where both of them are in the basement…. but above that level they disappear behind the walls and become non-entities.

Why I never thought of it before I’ll never know (Maybe I just didn’t CARE where they were) but I realized I could locate them by measuring the distance from the back basement wall to the chimney — where the one they were concerned about is visible — and then transfer the measurements to the bedroom. Voila! There it was, explaining why the bedroom is “L” shaped. Duh!

This old school started out as a six room school house — three of the classrooms with their own “cloak room.” It was added on to: making it 6 classrooms, plus to “boys rooms” and “two girls rooms” plus two behind the walls slop sinks or pipe chases. Then when it was converted from school to school board administration offices the board hacked up some of the big spaces into smaller spaces leaving a variety of interesting cubbies. So, we went from 6 rooms to 21 rooms — and all sorts of interesting places within.

After 7 years we are still discovering new things…. Oh, not every day… But, she’s like a shy maiden slowly revealing herself to my camera in studio. She’s quite comely with all her bits hanging out…. 🙂

When I was still shooting commercially I had started a series of images I called Landforms of Humanity. It was all about using the concept of geographical landforms to describe my humanscape images.

Anyway…. as much as I fuss and fret about wanting to sell her…. I’m going to miss the old gal when she’s finally history. She’s a winsome lass who has been a demanding mistress with whom my wife has been totally understanding. 🙂

I love the way you describe her as ‘a shy maiden slowly revealing herself to my camera in studio’ because that’s how I feel about this place! You will miss her when she’s gone, but you have a new life ahead now to travel freely wherever the road takes you 😀

I hope she sells for you soon – it must be a stressful time having all these realtors and buyers come and go! 😦

A house with a past – woo too! Yes, my recent discoveries have been about a house as well – the family home which my parents built and which I thought had been demolished has in fact been extended and on this trip I got to go in it again……memory lane 🙂

Who would think that a pesty wasp would lead you to more hidden treasures, that is so cool! “Being me, I grabbed a hammer and knocked a bigger hole in the wall so I could take a better look.” LOL! That’s what we love about you! 🙂

LOL! Yes – that is SO me! But that wall is pretty tough and the first time I hit it the hammer just bounced off (not as strong as I thought I was!) The pesty wasp was definitely trying to tell me something because it disappeared soon after (or maybe I scared the life out of it by smashing at the wall) 😀

Thanks, John. Those wasps are big and orange and look quite vicious, but they’re not the ‘attacking’ type like some we have around the farm (I would have stayed away if it was dangerous). I’m so glad you love reading about the RUC because I love writing about it! 😀

Can’t wait to read the coincidence stories !! Do you think the RUC might have been a mini community health clinic with Ambulance written there? (I guess it would have had internal walls though..) So curious now!

I’m really not sure, Annie. I walk around it all the time trying to visualise things. The marks on the floor are really interesting because I check the walls and the roof and there are no aligning marks (you’d think if there were walls they’d go all the way to the roof). The ‘unpainted’ spot near the front door is quite wide (too wide for a wall) so I’m thinking it must have been some kind of counter (but I could be wrong). It’s just so much fun trying to work out its history! I’m extremely curious by nature, so this is really getting my creative juices flowing! 😀

That is so cool about the house! Maybe you’ll be one of those people who find millions of dollars or an original Van Gogh hidden behind a wall. I love the mysteries old houses carry with them. Keep s posted.

An original Van Gogh would be fantastic! I haven’t checked the roof space yet 😀 I absolutely love old things and the treasures they conceal – I’ve found some old coins and a key (but I don’t know what the key is for) and who knows what else is there. Everything just reveals so slowly! 😉

Taking down a wall in an old farmhouse, I found newspaper used as insulation. This was not unusual, but it was fun reading the stories from a time long before I was born. I kept hoping I’d find forgotten cash, but it didn’t happen. ;/

Strangely enough, people don’t wrap millions of dollars in cash and stuff them inside walls (damn it!) That would be a nice find (but I’d never tell anyone in case someone wanted to claim it!) I also love reading old newspapers – I found some in my grandmothers cupboard that were from WWII (they contained heaps of propaganda, it was fun) 😉

Great story in your saga of the RUC! I love discoveries, too — and only a few years ago discovered thrift stores. What I was missing!

As far as my biggest discovery in my life was ME. When I was in college at age 35, I found my grandfather’s citizenship papers in the University archives. For the first time, I became grounded in knowing where I had come from. Learning about my Italian grandfather (I was only seven when he died),opened many doors and windows into my heritage and more and more discoveries I could share with my aunts and uncles about their father. It was a very exciting time in my life.

I love it when things like that happen, Barb. What an exciting time it must have been for you! It’s like a present that slowly unwraps itself revealing more and more beautiful things! I hope you’ve written a story about that discovery 😀

Wow Dianne, this is so totally cool – I think you will be able to write a book about your new home!! Honestly, I know you get frustrated and impatient with this WIP but just think of what you will have when it’s done. I am so excited and happy for you.

Thank you, Sheila! After my last panic (rant) about things not getting finished on time I’ve just gotten stuck into it myself. The builders are taking time off for Easter (how dare they) LOL 😉 and I’m washing walls and polishing the wooden doors. I’m pretty sure I’ll have arms like a body builder when I’m finished 😉

The closest I can come to something like that is in our old house. It was built shortly after WWII by a guy who worked at the city dump with whatever he could find at the dump. There was corrugated metal inside all the walls. And when we remodeled the back bedroom, which we thought might have once been a porch, we found that the wall between it and the middle bedroom had a window in it, and the window still had the glass in it! When they enclosed the porch, they just sheetrocked over the window. Amazing!

LOL! That’s amazing, Ruth. I love making discoveries like that. The glass in the window would have been nice too (I’ve found out recently that old glass is quite valuable). You must have had a lot fun renovating (as well as frustration) but it’s all worth it in the end 😀

Love it Dianne, but it would drive me crackers not knowing the full story.

My apartment block is built on the site of a hotel that burnt down about 30 years ago. During the German Occupation the hotel was the official German brothel 😯 It ended sadly as the ‘girls’ were so raddled that there were few customers, they were shipped back to France but hit a rock on the way and all drowned 😦

It’s worth a story isn’t it? One of those almost-forgotten wartime tragedies. But no, your RUC and the memories its timbers may yet contain have given me the germ of a little venture into the paranormal…we’ll see 🙂

Sometimes things unfold in your life in a way that feels mean-to-be. When I was a teenager, and and aspiring artist, my signature was two rocks. Two rocks, sometimes a cactus, too, but mostly two rocks. In 2003 I bought an old Danish oil painting, a landscape of a hillside with cows (part of it is the cover to The Emma Caites Way). In 2007, when my life turned upside down, I found a place to live in Two Rock and the image in the painting–though painted in Denmark at the turn of the century–was the view out my new back window. Two Rock will not always be my home, but it is the place that I found myself and started to write.

Your RUC echoes with those same themes of destination. I love hearing how, after troubled times you are rebuilding your life from the footings up.

What a beautiful story. I’m very much into how things are ‘meant to be’ and happen in the most odd ways. It’s almost like the universe is conspiring to make these things happen and we just go long for the ride. You must have been in awe when you saw the view out your back window and looked back at the painting. They say truth is stranger than fiction – and they’re right 😀

I’m sure the wasp was trying to tell me something, Sylvia. It was so persistent. It vanished after I saw the writing and didn’t bother me again (but that may have been because I was wielding a hammer) 😉

Wall-o’ the Wasp. 🙂 Discovery in a way helps character growth and rising conflict. And it’s fun to write. 🙂 A coin, well, that sounds intriguing. I found a threepence in a keyhole of the first house my wife and I bought. Who put it there? Probably a little boy, but it could have been a woman hiding money from her abusive husband. Who knows? A story can take all sorts of directions with discovery involved as is happening with the RUC.

It’s so true about discovery and characters, Justin. I love watching children play because they love making discoveries and I think as we get older we lose that way of looking at the world. The idea of the threepence in a keyhole may have just passed someone else by, but as writers we love to put a story behind things like this (and sometimes create entire novels based on them)! 😀

I love this mini-mystery post, Dianne. Reminds me of the Two-Minute Mysteries I used to read as a kid, except I could turn the page and find out the answer.
I wouldn’t cross Ambulance Station off the list too fast. I’m thinking that before 911, people would have to be reminded of the number to call Ambulances. A great place to advertise would be in the station where people had just run to because they can’t remember the number. Instead of having to answer the question over and over, “What is the number to call for an ambulance?” They just put it on the back wall. I can imagine a cheeky worker at the front desk near the door simply pointing his/her finger to the back wall without even lifting his/her head.

LOL! You could be right, Kozo! So ‘ambulance station’ goes back on my list 😀 I’m looking forward to getting out to the historical society and taking pictures with me – I really hope they’re helpful otherwise I may have to invent a history! 😀 {{{Hugs}}}

Such fun reading of your discoveries. Tomorrow I’m going to help my niece discover the joy of making bread. I was given a family recipe from my father-in-law, and look forward to passing it on to another generation. When i first made bread, I was surprised by how much joy came in consuming something made from scratch.

Oh Wow Dianne! If only walls can talk. Oh, wait in your case they almost have. Think of the story the RUC could tell, but then of course, knowing you, you probably already have. As far as discoveries I’ve made, I’ll be honest, I can’t think of a one.

I love that saying ‘if only walls could talk’ – that’s brilliant 😉 Mine is trying to talk, but maybe I’m just not listening close enough. I can’t wait to get the rest of that wall down to see what else is written there 😀

How FUN. Glad you didn’t get stung while exploring and ripping out walls.

I love the discoveries unveiled when writing ~ half the time the story seems to be on auto-pilot, writing itself while dictating to me. That’s what happened with A Peculiar Party Under The Palms.

I planned to write a SHORT short story to share some of the photos we took in Naples at a Cocktail Party a few weeks back, but the story took on a life of its own and (like the Energizer Bunny) it kept going and going and going.

We are nearing the finish line . . . about 8 days later than my original ETA.

I love every post…it’s fun to see this adventure unfold. One of my favorite books is Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett and how the the cathedral is really the main character of the story…your version is Pillars of the RUC! I am pretty confident, however, that unlike Pillars of the Earth, it won’t take centuries to complete! 😀

I am not surprised you loved that book too! I love it for it’s epic nature and great characters, for starters. Glad the analogy made sense..and thankfully your RUC will not take centuries before you can enjoy it 😀

I haven’t torn down any walls lately, but I know what this is like. It is a lot of fun to look around and discover whatever might be around. Every once in awhile, my dog digs up a bone from the yard. Those kinds of discoveries can be a little disconcerting. 🙂

I hope they’re animal bones, Shelia! 😀 My dogs have never dug up any ‘strange’ bones, but one of them got out one night and came home with a neck brace (I was always worried about who it belonged to and what they would do without it!) 😉

Wow, Dianne, this new/old house of yours is full of quirks and mysteries (not the least of which is being built from solid oak: even here in tree-filled North America, that would cost a fortune!) The full tale of this place would definitely make a great story. 🙂

I think it’s really fun how you keep discovering things about your house! Almost reminds me of those movies where the character walks into a deserted mansion and comes upon something highly interesting… or a ghost.

Hey Dianne, so many “mysteries” underneath the surface of so many “manys”. From the exchange of your wonderful followers in the comment section, I’m wondering if there are sublevels of reemergence of some type going on here for us humans. Just too cool – these discoveries, or our curious attitude about them. The UltraTerrestrials sounds fascinating, will be buying, of course! Love your fiction! 🙂

OMG…that is really just so exciting. You are literally living inside of a mystery! How much fun is that?!? I’m so happy for you, not to mention envious…your ‘new’ house is a treasure trove for story ideas. :0) How wonderful to think what went on inside those walls…

I am so happy to hear a glimpse of The UltraTerrestrials, but the wasp-wall is even more intriguing. That wasp was persistent in its efforts to bring the wall to your attention. I can imagine it thinking, dammit I have to make a new nest… oh look at this wall… now I’ll have to show it to that woman who knocked down my old nest…. but okaaaaay. Hammer! she’s got a hammer! I’m outta here 😉

I love the sense of history, and mystery, about your house! The places we lived in England were very unique, and that really adds to a lovely personal sense about where one lives.

Now a few weeks past the pirate-issue, I have come to realize some facts about my writing, that otherwise wouldn’t have hit me. I’m feeling blessed by those discoveries, even if they came about somewhat abruptly. I’m looking forward to digging into them further, somewhat like you and the RUC. I also love hearing about your writing; I never tire of reading about what spurs another’s creative mind! 🙂

I hope the discoveries you’ve made a good ones, Anna! 😉 Digging and exploring isn’t just about physical things – every now and then we need to take stock and explore our lives 😀 I’m in awe of your strength and the way you tackle problems. I’ll definitely be coming to you if I ever need advice 😀

Diane, I hope your RUC isn’t haunted or anything? A mysterious house with a lot of history could make for a great story. I’m sure your mind is churning. That’s so exciting. I wonder what you’ll find next. Discoveries…I did take a walk in a new place. From the road it looked like nothing, but inside this little patch of woods, it was really beautiful. It was a hidden gem. I’d like to wander around in shops. Sounds fun, too!

I haven’t slept in the RUC yet so I’m not sure if it has other ‘occupants’! 😉 I absolutely love exploring and this is the perfect place to do it. Your visit to the little house in the woods is right up my alley – what a lovely surprise 😀

You’re such a super sleuth! Man that is so cool, I hope you get to the bottom of what the building was used for originally. Just think of all the history that place must hold! Everything those walls have seen!

So exciting, and I’m sure this all leaves you with no shortage of writing ideas 🙂

YAY – thank you so much, Rohan! I was just there taking a look and having a read. What a day for my laptop to die! I’m on my little ‘old’ laptop at the moment (thank god I didn’t give it away when I got my new one!) I love the pictures you chose for the interview and I reblogged as well. I wanted to put it on FB, but couldn’t find the link on your page (but it may just be this archaic thing I’m typing on at the moment).

Bless that wasp, and how cool that you followed it…bang! Curiouser and curiouser:-) I’m looking forward to hearing more as your detective adventure unfolds. I love the description of the wood your new home is built from – oak hey, how beautiful, and such huge ‘trunks’ of it – your RUC is a tree house! I’ve always wanted to live in a tree house:-)

This is very cool. I can’t wait until you are able to tell about “all” of the strange coincidences you’ve experienced.

I read this post when you first put it up. I spent a couple of days searching the house for a picture, but have no idea where it is. Years ago, Rich took the wallpaper down in the kitchen. Before he put new paper up, our son and I used paints to draw a big funny head with just a few teeth and labeled it, “Dad.” I think we drew some other silly things, too. If we ever sell this house, the new owners will likely change the wallpaper in the kitchen, and they will surely wonder what sort of crazy people lived here when they see what’s behind the old wallpaper. It will be a mystery they will never solve. 🙂

I’m left with the insane desire to smash something here. I can’t stand knowing that the answer lies in that wall, and it is only half revealed. It’s like a Christmas gift. The first rip reveals a few words on the box, and you just know what’s inside! But yet, you keep ripping as if you didn’t know – not for sure. You think, “Is it really a mixer, or did they just regift something else that fit into a mixer box? I sure hope so because I already have 10 mixers already!”

You know that kind of knowing anticipation. So is it really the word ambulance? Rip open that wall! Let’s find out for sure! 🙂

I’ve half ripped the wall off and it is definitely the word ambulance with a phone number 😀

Your story about the mixer reminds me of a Christmas when I was young and my grandmother sent a box of chocolates to my dad. With 6 Children sitting around the table on Christmas day we were all really eager to get into those chocolates that had been sitting in the fridge since they arrived the week before. When my father finally opened the box, inside was a pair of socks! Good grief – I’ll have to blog about this one day 😀

I often think that when I go into an hold house – if I stop to listen I’m sure I can hear the squeals of laughter and shouts as kids run down the stairs, the bang of a door, whispered words in the dark of night ….

It was built before the 999 numbers (in about 1870) so that old number would have been put there mid last century. The place where the number is located used to be on the outside of the house so it would have been visible to anyone who had gone there looking for help (I assume). But then again, it’s still a mystery! 😀